Combined rail-joint and nut-lock.



E. T. WADE.

COMBINED RAIL JOINT AND NUT LOCK. APPLIOTION FILED MAYs, 1913* I 1,0?7,770. l Patented Nov.4,1913.

wml-:ases -de/ lNvENToR ATTO R N EY EDWIN T. WADE,

UNITED STATE Specification of Letters Patent.

s PAENT OFFICE.

or Monson', MISSISSIPPI,` AssIGNoIt or ons-romana 're CHARLES w. PAYNE, or JACKSON, IIISSISsIPrr,

Patented Nov. 4., 1913.

improve the construction of rail joints, and

to provide Aa simple and inexpensive rail joint of strong and durable construction, equipped with nut locking means, adapted to securely lock the nuts of bolts Withoutnecessitating any alteration in the construction of the nuts.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rail joint of this characterf in which the nut locking means will lie out of the path of the anges of the wheels of a train and which will permit a vertical movement or adjustment of the nuts, ,so that the bolts will always fit and engage them properly.

. With these and other objects in view, the lnvention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, -illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claim hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in .the form, proportion, Size and minor' details of construction, within the scope of the claim, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacricing any of the advantages of the invention. i

In the drawing :@Figure 1 is -a side elevation of a combined rail joint and nut lock, constructed in accordance .with this invention. Fig. 2 is a Similar view, showing the other side of the rail joint, the headsl of gne pair of bolts being in section. Fig. 3 1s a horizontal sectional view of the cornblned rail joint and nut lock. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on. the line 4-4 of Flg. 1. Fig. 5 is a' detail perspective view of a portion of one of the angle bar fish plates.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in alll the iigures of the drawing.

In theaccompanying drawing in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 and 2 designate angle har fish plates arranged at op osite sides of a pair of rails 3 and secured) to the same by transverse bolts 4, passing throughl the webs of the rails and extending through openings 5 and 16 in the fish plates. The angle bar iish plates lit against the bottom flanges and` the webs of the rails, and the bolts have their `heads arranged adjacent to the sh plate .1,

washers 7 bein preferably interposed between the said sh plate 1 and the heads of the bolts. l

In order to lock the bolts against rotary movement, their heads are provided with perforations 8, and they are adapted vto be connected in pairsby rods 9, vextending longitudinally of the rail joint centrally of the space between the heads of the rails and the bottom ang thereof, and each 'provided at one end with an ar1n'10 and adapted to be secured in the perfo-rations of the'bolts by bending the other end at a slight angle. Any other suitablemeans, however, may be employed for locking the bolts against rotary movement.

The nuts 11, which are arranged on the threaded ends of the bolts, are preferably rectangular and they are located contiguous to straight vertical end faces 12 of. longitudinal ribs 13, arranged in a series at the outer face of the upright portion ofthe angle fish plate 2 betweenthe boltopenings than the openings 14 in the webs of the rails to allow for anyv variation in the position' of the said openings 14. The longitudinal ribs 13, .which are rectangular `in cross section, are preferably of' the same cross sectional area as the nuts and are spaced apart so that the intermediate joint will be arranged between the ribs 13, while the end nuts it against the otter, ends aof the terminal ribs 13, as clearly shown nuts of the rail in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing.` The nuts vare adapted to slide upwardly and downwardly on the -sh plate 24 between the ribs 13 and also at the ends thereof, so that the bolts will always fit. The openings 5 of the fish. late 1 are also preferably. enlarged to acilitate an adjustment. of the bolts to fit the openings 14 in the webs of the ralls.

openings 14 in the webs are shown of substantially the diameter of the bolts, they Vhile the may be elongated to *allow for the expansion and contraction of the rails due to the changes in temperature.

The nut engaging and bolt looking means of the fish plate 2 are located a sufficient distance below the headspf the rails to a1- range them out of the path of the flanges of the wheels of a train, so that they will not be injured by the Wheels of a train or interfere with the passage of the same over the rails.

What is claimed is In a rail joint, the combination with a pair of rails provided in their webs with bolt openings, of Afish plates located at 0pposite sides of the rails and also provided with bolt openings of greater diameter than those of the rails, one of the iish plates being provided on its exterior with a longitudinal series of integral longitudinally dis-- posed ribs substant-ially rectangular in cross section and presenting vertical end faces at the sides of and in spaced relation with the bolt openings, bolts passing through the said openings, and nuts arranged on the bolts at the ends of the said ribs and fitting the space between the same, whereby they are held against rotary movement, said nuts being slidable vertically on the fish plates and coperating with the enlarged bolt o enings to permit a relative adjustment ofp the ture in the presence of two witnesses.

` EDWIN T. WADE. Witnesses:

D. T. MONAIR, T. S. EVANS.

bolts and the nuts so that they Will always 

